The organ of the Philharmonie Haarlem, built in 1871 by the renowned French organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, is a historic pipe organ originally intended for the Palais de l’Industrie in Paris. Instead, it was installed in 1875 at the Paleis voor Volksvlijt in Amsterdam, where it served as a concert organ and was played by prominent organists such as Alexandre Guilmant and Camille Saint-Saëns. The organ fell into disrepair after the opening of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the declining popularity of the Paleis voor Volksvlijt.

Thanks to the efforts of Haarlem’s city organist Louis Robert, the organ was moved in 1922 to the Great Hall of the Concertgebouw in Haarlem, later known as the Philharmonie. After several restorations and modifications, the most significant being the restoration by the Flentrop company in 2005, the organ was returned to its original state. Since then, it has been regularly used for concerts and continues to play a prominent role in the biannual International Organ Festival Haarlem.